Michigan State Basketball: How would 4-star SG Bryce Thompson fit?

Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo stopped in to see four-star 2020 shooting guard Bryce Thompson this week and extended an offer.

Tom Izzo doesn’t offer just anyone. He finds guys who he believes can take his coaching and run with it and Bryce Thompson was the latest to catch his eye.

On Thursday, Izzo took a trip down to Oklahoma to see Thompson and his family and he left after extending an offer to the four-star Booker T. Washington product.

This is an important offer for the staff as it will help them replace Josh Langford and potentially Aaron Henry (depending on his NBA prospects) following the 2019-20 season. On top of that, Kyle Ahrens will also be gone but Gabe Brown and Rocket Watts should be back — both have the ability to play some shooting guard.

How would Thompson fit into a potential 2020-21 rotation with the Spartans if Henry did come back? We’d probably see him playing more of a sixth man role, coming off the bench to give Henry and Watts a rest. He has solid size at 6-foot-5 and 175 pounds (he could afford to add some weight) so he could slip right into that Langford role.

Thompson has decent length, plays solid defense and can score from anywhere. He has plenty of Langford in him, and there’s always a need for that type of player in East Lansing.

Izzo has to be excited about the potential to land Thompson, but he’ll be fighting with some of college basketball’s blue bloods (Kansas, North Carolina) for him. He’s ranked the No. 61 player and 15th-best shooting guard in the 2020 class.